Lemme tell you something about roads: They involve a lot of specialists working at all levels of bureaucracy who don’t always communicate with each other. And when they don’t–which is often–common sense is usually the first casualty.

The biggest problem is that the DOT, along with all the private sector folks suckling at their financial teat, see three types of roads: locals, which dump into collectors, which dump into the arterials that handle the heavy, through traffic. Works well enough in the ‘burbs, I guess, but not so useful in a place like Decatur, where streets of many sizes and configurations weave and connect their way through a variety of historic contexts.

The degree to which this three-sizes-fits-all thinking can undermine the joyful complexity of an interconnected, traditional urban place is, for a geek like me who obsesses over such things, extensive. And it’s not just me. Over time, all kinds of communities have gotten sick and tired of poorly designed thoroughfares being rammed through the places they care about most, with little regard for what makes them work or what makes them special.

Outcries drove the DOT to begin rallying, at least in their press releases, around the flag of “Context Sensitive Design.” They’re still not very good at it (they’ve always been much better at responding to the needs of cars than to the needs of people or the demands of place), but it’s been a veer in the right direction nonetheless. And now you hear a lot of talk about Complete Streets, which will push them even further into the 21st century. So there’s hope.

But I digress. For now, I want to point out what looks like some good, old-fashioned, specialists-in-silos craziness. Please join me as we tour East Lake Drive, just south of the tracks, where I speculate — from a reading of the clues — about what’s going on.

The announcement I had previously posted about the East Lake MARTA Station Emergency Response Exercise apparently had the wrong times in it. The event will actually occur overnight tomorrow, NOT during the day as originally reported. Here’s the correct info straight from the Decatur Minute…

On November 20th and 21st between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. the Decatur Police and Fire Departments will be assisting MARTA with an emergency preparedness exercise at the East Lake MARTA station. The following streets will be closed during the exercise:

-West Howard Avenue between Adair Street and Ridgecrest Avenue

-Paden Circle between East Lake Drive and West Howard Avenue

Residents along West Howard Avenue will be allowed westbound access, but may travel no further on West Howard Avenue than Chief Matthews Road. If you have any questions, please contact Deputy Police Chief J.K. Lee at (678) 553-6620 or [email protected] You can also find out more information by visting MARTA’s website.

From other reports I’ve read, the station will also be closed during these hours as well.

I’m sure we’ll have to reference this post again on November 20th, but just so many of you are aware ahead of time, Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd passes along this announcement from MARTA officials…

MARTA will conduct a Full Scale Police Exercise at the East Lake Station and surrounding area on Saturday, November 20, 2010, in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Atlanta Police and Fire Departments, and Decatur Police and Fire Departments. These annual training exercises provide the opportunity for the MARTA Police Department (MPD), MARTA staff and other emergency response agencies to practice response and recovery operations during a simulated situation.